The present invention relates to browsing and interacting in an computer network environment. In particular, the invention relates to novel computer network user interface methods and associated systems and applications that provide information organization and retrieval and as well as user interaction in ways that enhance the user""s experience of a computer network environment, particularly the Internet.
A computer network is a geographically distributed collection of interconnected communication links for transporting data between nodes, such as computers. By definition, a network is a group of computers and associated devices that are connected by communications facilities or links. Network connections can be of a permanent nature, such as via cables, or can be of a temporary nature, such as connections made through telephone or other communication links. A plurality of computer networks may be further interconnected by intermediate nodes, or routers, to extend the effective xe2x80x9csizexe2x80x9d of the networks, smaller portions of which may be maintained as autonomous domains of nodes. A router is computer system that stores and forwards data packets from one local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN) to another. Routers see the network as network addresses and all the possible paths between them. They read the network address in a transmitted message and can make a decision on how to send it based on the most expedient route (traffic load, line costs, speed, bad lines, etc.). Routers typically communicate by exchanging discrete xe2x80x9cpacketsxe2x80x9d of data according to predefined protocols. In this context, a protocol comprises a set of rules defining how the nodes interact with each other.
Networks vary in size, from a local area network (LAN) consisting of a few computers and related devices, to a wide area network (WAN) which interconnects computers and LANS that are geographically dispersed. An internetwork, in turn, is the joining of multiple computer networks, both similar and dissimilar, by means of gateways or routers that facilitate data transfer and conversion from various networks. A well known abbreviation for internetwork is internet. As currently understood, the capitalized term Internet refers to the collection of networks and gateways that uses a Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). The Internet has recently seen explosive growth by virtue of its ability to link computers located throughout the world.
A LAN is a communication network that serves users within a confined geographical area. It is made up of servers, workstations, a network operating system and a communications link. Servers are high-speed machines that hold programs and data shared by all network users. The workstations, or clients, are the users"" personal computers, which perform stand-alone processing and access the network servers as required. In some contexts, the term xe2x80x9cclientxe2x80x9d may also refer to software running on a client machine. The controlling software in a LAN is the network operating system, such as, for example, NetWare, UNIX, and/or Appletalk, which resides in the server. Message transfer is managed by a transport protocol such as, for example, IPX, SPX, SNA and/or TCP/IP. The physical transmission of data is performed by the access method (Ethernet, Token Ring, etc.) which is implemented in the network adapters that plug into the machines. The actual communications path is the cable (twisted pair, coax, optical fiber) that interconnects each network adapter.
The linking of a plurality of computer systems into a network of computer systems is a well known technology. In this way, the collective resources available within the network may be shared among all connected users. With the growth of the Internet, a worldwide interconnection of millions of computers, sharing of computer resources has been brought to a wide audience. The Internet has become an important communication tool for individuals, businesses and governments, and cultural medium for both information and entertainment.
The World Wide Web (or xe2x80x9cwebxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cWWWxe2x80x9d) is the Internet""s multimedia information retrieval system. It is the most commonly used method of transferring data in the Internet environment. Client machines communicate with web servers using the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), which is a known application protocol providing users access to files, e.g., text, graphics, images, sound, video, using a standard page description language known as the Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), as is well known to those of skill in the art. HTML provides basic document formatting and allows the developer to specify xe2x80x9clinksxe2x80x9d to other servers and files. Further details regarding HTML and the World Wide Web generally may be found on the World Wide Web Consortium""s web site at www.w3.org, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein. In the Internet paradigm, a network path to a server is identified by a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) having a specific syntax for defining a network connection.
Retrieval of information in a large computer network environment, such as the Internet, is generally achieved by the use of an HTML-compatible xe2x80x9cbrowserxe2x80x9d, e.g., Netscape Navigator, Microsoft Explorer, etc., at a client machine. When the user of the browser specifies a link via a URL, the client issues a request to a naming service to map a hostname in the URL to a particular network IP address at which the server is located. The naming service returns a list of one or more IP addresses that can respond to the request. Using one of the IP addresses, the browser establishes a connection to a server. If the server is available, it returns a document or other object formatted according to HTML. Web browsers have become the primary interface for access to many network and server services and their use and operation are well understood in the art.
The global proliferation of the Internet has enabled easy creation and access of a myriad of information types. Although more and more users and businesses have published their own web sites, there is no fabric linking them togetherxe2x80x94just a fragile collection of links, some broken, some outdated. It is often difficult for a user to remember how to find a site or page without the address (URL) or a reference point (e.g., a bookmark). Search engines and directories attempt to catalog, sort and make sense of this mass of information, but at best, they provide snapshots of an everchanging and growing universe of information. From the users"" perspective, conventional web browsers make surfing the web a solitary experience; there is no help navigating the mass of information and no connection to other users browsing on the internet at any one time. Even if users can communicate through chat and instant messaging, these tools are typically segregated from the main web site in which the user is browsing. Thus, communication between users takes place outside of the information context.
While several approaches are being created to integrate chat with web pages, few if any have sought solutions to problems associated with the act of web browsing. Pervasive problems include: There is no correlation between the information being browsed and the people browsing the information; this has created a flat empty electronic space lacking any kind of character or context in which people communicate. Also, there is no spatial context to associate web sites with one another or to a well-known landmark. In addition, weak navigation paradigms make it difficult for users to locate previously visited and new web sites or to find xe2x80x9cpopularxe2x80x9d sites. For example, social browsing, the ability to ask others for information while browsing, is not supported as a part of the navigation paradigm. This is true both in browsing among web sites and in navigating within a web site.
Thus, improved web browsing mechanisms that address these problems are needed.
The present invention addresses the above problems by providing a web browsing environment that provides a graphical spatial context to associate web sites to one another. Conventional computer network interfaces (e.g., web browsers) provide an environment in which a user may feel as though they are browsing discrete pages not connected to other people. One feature of a web browsing environment (computer network user interface system) in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is a shared multiple browser format. The shared multiple browser format provides a system that is analogous to being in a city which is alive with people, activities and commerce. Users may browse by panning over a continuous space within a spatial context amongst other users. Information as well as people, visually represented in the form of character proxies, inhabit the space giving its inhabitants a richer and personalized sense of place. Users can participate in group events and communicate within a spatial context. In one embodiment, similar to a city, a market mechanism allows the space to be self-organized and to evolve organically in response to the inhabitants of the space.
Computer network user interface methods and associated systems and applications in accordance with embodiments of the present invention may integrate the information with a community of users browsing the information into one environment. They can also create a fabric linking web sites together by building a self-organizing spatial landscape of the Internet. In addition, they can introduce a navigation paradigm that takes advantage of the spatial and social aspects of the integrated environment. Such a navigation paradigm can also be advantageously applied within a web site, for example in an implementation of a virtual store. Web browsing environments in accordance with the invention may also allow for interaction between users browsing the space.
In one aspect, the invention provides a computer network user interface. The interface includes a computer network browsing environment having a graphical spatial context to associate web sites to one another.
In another aspect, the invention provides a computer network system. The system includes one or more network servers each having a processor and a memory, and one or more network clients connected with the network servers each having a processor, a memory, a display, and a network connector. The system also includes a network user interface having a computer network browsing environment which provides a graphical spatial context to associate web sites to one another.
It still another aspect, the invention provides a method, implemented on a computer system, for providing a computer network browsing environment. The method involves integrating information from browsing the computer network into a single graphical spatial environment. Also provided is a computer program product for effecting a method in accordance with the present invention.